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SOUTH CAROLINA rxivF.usm-. 



mate, and ill proximity to the great centres of popu- 

 lation and wealth of the North Atlantic, HMOM in-ure 

 a marked advan-e in pro-iH-ritv. IK I'. B.) 



NORTH CAROLINA! rXlYKRSITY OR "The 

 ONMthuiion of North Carolina directed the establish 

 111 rnl of university, *n<l a charter WM accordingly 

 granted, Deo. 11, ITN, to forty corporators, the first 

 Being GOT. Samuel Johnson. A supplemental act 

 bestowed on tin- in-tiiiition all arrearages due to the 

 Bute from receiving officer* up to .Ian. 1. I TV;, ami all 

 escheated propcrtv. Unclaimed hmd-WMnattgnated 

 to Mldieni of the Revolution wore located in Tennessee, 

 an i it* General Assembly allowed to tin- Uvtnatty of 

 North Carolina title t.i one third. The trustees met 



for the university. I _'*<) acres there having been offered 

 as a donation. The village was marked^ out and the 

 corner-stone of the first university building laid by 

 GOT. W. Richardson Davie. on Oct. 12, 171)3. Chapel 

 Hill is 12 miles south of Hillsborough, the county 

 eat of Orange, and LN miles W. N. W. of Raleigh. 



Benjamin Smith in 1790 had given a warrant tor 

 20,000 acres of land in Tennessee, which was sold 

 about 1837 for $14,000. In ITVTGcn. Thomas 

 gaTe $li2. lor the completion of the " Old Chapel 

 or " Person Hall," and others subscribed $7o|s, for 

 the erection of buildings. A loan of $10,000 from the 

 General Assembly was afterwards made a gift. 



At the opening of the university in 1795 l)avid Kerr, 

 graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, was made pro- 

 fessor of ancient languages, and Charles W. Harris, a 

 graduate of Princeton College, professor of mathemat- 

 ics. A year later Rev. Joseph Caldwell, D. I)., LL I)., 

 succeeded the latter in his professorship and in 

 1804 was made president. He held that position 

 until his death in 1K35. with the exception of the 

 years 1812-1C, during which time Rev. Dr. Robert H. 

 Chapman, of Virginia, was president. In ISO'.)- 10 

 sundry citizens subscribed about $10.535 for the erec- 

 tion of buildings. Davi.l L. Swain, LL D. , who had 

 been governor of the State from 1832 to 1835, then 

 became president of tin- university, and remain. -1 in 

 '"office till 1808. Under his direction the university 

 had at the outbreak of the civil war nearly 50' > 

 students. It was the only Southern institution of its 

 rank that continued its exercises throughout the war. 

 The escheated land-warrants had after many years 

 realized for the university about $150,000, but this 

 amount was lost during the civil war by the insolvency 

 of the bank in whose stock it was invested. Oilier 

 smaller -uni- had been received from time to time from 

 eachcaU in North Carolina, arrearages, confiscations, 

 etc., amounting in all to $134,000, which had been used 

 lor buildings and current expenses. The United 

 States by the act of lsr>2 gave to the State for the 

 establishment of a college of agriculture and the 

 mechanic arts land-scrip tor 270,(K)0 acres. This was 

 N)ld in |si'>7 at the market price of 50 cents per acre, 

 but the investment of the funds proved unfortunate. 



On the adoption of tin- Slate, constitution of ISiiS. 

 during the reconstruction period, the faculty of the 

 university wax displaced by a new corps, of which 



> ..loiinni Tool was pre.-iilent, but no exercises 

 were held after INTO. In I,s7~>. in pursuance of a 

 ciin-titutional amendment, new trustees were elected 

 by the General Assembly, ami a new faculty was in- 

 stalled, with Rev. Charles Phillip.-. D D.. LL. D., as 

 prt-Miding professor. In l-<7r, Kemp P. Battle. LL. I)., 

 who had formerly been State treasurer, was elected 

 president, and him since discharged the. duties ol 'that 

 office. By his efforts about $18,000 had been given 

 by citizen* for the revival of the university. The 

 8ute alito gave a certificate for tl'.'.'i.iNX). on which l'< 



ut. was paid Hcini-.iiiiiii. illy. Hon. I! !'. Moore. 

 of Kilcigli. btt|iic:ithi-d in IsTs the sum of $.'>(HK), the 

 iu le rent uf wiiich i- U> In- applied to defraying the tui- 



tion of Miidciits. lu-v. Charles F. Deems, D. D., of 

 N.-w York, furmerly a professor in the university, 

 lii^l in 1SSO a fund to aid indigent students, 

 ami Mr. W. II. Vanderbilt increased this fund, which 

 now amounts to $13,000. In Is-.. Miss Mary Ruffin 

 Smith, residing near Chapel Hill, bequeathed to the 

 university a plantation in Chatham co., called ,lon> -' 

 Grove, and valued at $15,000. The rent of the 

 property, or interest on the proceeds, if the property 

 be sold, is to be applied by the faculty in the education 

 of suitable students. Mrs. C. P. Spencer, daughter 

 of Rev. Dr. .lames Phillips, presented to the university 

 JOdO volumes from his library. 



. The university is by the State consti- 

 tution entrusted to the General Assembly. That body 

 has committed it to 80 trustees, who are usually chosen 

 from different sections of the State. They boll office 

 for eight years, one-fourth beinjj chosen every two 

 years. The governor is ex offieto president of the 

 board, though not necessarily a member. Ten mem- 

 bers constitute a quorum. At the annual meeting, 

 held in .January, an executive committee of 

 trustees is appointed, who hold office lor one year and 

 have all the power not expressly forbidden by the 

 board. As these are elected on account of convenient 

 access to the city of Raleigh, continuity of wise and 

 efficient management is secured. The offices of secre- 

 tary and treasurer are combined, and this officer now, 

 lion. W. L. Saunders, secretary of state, re-ides in 

 Raleigh, and is a member of the executive committee. 



Tlie fuciilt// consists of the president, professors, 

 and assistant professors, their votes being equal. The 

 president is a member of the board of trustees, whose 

 communications with the board go through him. 

 Although his powers have never Keen defined by law, 

 courtesy and custom concede to him sufficient author- 

 ity. 



Among the best known members of the faculty of 

 the past have been Presidents Caldwell and Swaiiij 

 Kthan A. Allen and Dcnison Olmsted. afterwards of 

 Yale University. Dr. Win. Hooper, Dr. Klisha Mitchell, 

 who lost his life in exploring the mountain named from 

 him, the highest peak of the Alleghanies, Rev. Dr. 

 .lames and Charles Phillips, professors of mathematics, 

 Walker Anderson, afterwards Chief-Justice of Florida, 

 Dr. Wm. M. (ireen, afterwards Bishop of Mississippi, 

 Dr. Charles F. Deems, now of the Church of the 

 Strangers, New York, Nicholas M. Ilentz, Rev. Dr. 

 F. M.'Hubbard, Win. H. Battle, LL. D.. Judge of 

 the Supreme Court of North Carolina, H. F. Hcdrick. 



Under Prof. Oltnstcd, in ISiM, was organized tint 

 geological survey of the State, believed to lie the first in 

 tin- I'nion by public authority. In ls:;i Pivs. Call- 

 well built the first astronomical observatory in this 

 country, but its operations were discontinued after his 

 death in 1835. 



The university has been of great service to public- 

 school education by successful inauguration of summer 

 normal schools, now common in the South. A great 

 impetus was thereby given to the training of teachers, 

 and t!;i- establishment of graded school-. 



Instruct inn. Originally Latin, (ireek. and mathe- 

 matics were the studies principally attended to. This 

 system continued uninterruptedly .intil January, 1854j 

 when a school was established for the " application of 

 science to arts. 1 ' with l>r. Charles Phillips as proli 1 . or 

 of civil eiigineeriiiL.'. and Benjamin F. llcdrick as pro- 

 fessor of agricultural chemistry. 



In IsT'i the unVcrsity was reorganized on the basis 

 of largely increased liberty of election and much greater 

 proportion of scientific and linguistic studies. Three, 

 courses lead to de^ivs ; one to that of bachelor of 

 arts (A. B. ). ineliidini! Inith Latin and (ireek ; another 

 to that of luchcl.pr of philosophy (l"i. B.), with Latin 

 or ( J reek replaced by French oHiennan ; and the third 

 rcplacinc liolh the classics with French, (iceman, and 

 scientific studies, Icadinir to the decree of bachelor of 

 science (S. B.). Besides these, students are allowed U) 



